Palestinian move to unite with Hamas may do little

Apr. 23, 2014
|

Senior Fatah official Azzam Al Ahmad (L) and Hamas Prime minister Sheikh Ismael Haneiya (R) applaud during a news conference after the announcement of an agreement between the two rival Palestinian groups, in Gaza City, 23 April 2014. Palestinian rival movements Hamas and Fatah on 23 April agreed to form a unity government and hold general elections. The two rivals have been embroiled in a rift since 2006, after Hamas unexpectedly beat the secular Fatah in parliamentary elections, conducted exactly a year after Mahmoud Abbas won a presidential poll. / MOHAMMED SABER EPA

by Oren Dorell, USA TODAY

by Oren Dorell, USA TODAY

The announcement Wednesday by Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas that his Fatah party will form a unity government with rival Hamas is an effort to pressure Israel to concede to Palestinian demands in peace talks, analysts say.

But in the end he will have to negotiate with Israel to achieve a Palestinian state, they say.

"It's a move by Abbas to show he has other options," said Hussein Ibish, a senior fellow at the American Task Force on Palestine, which seeks a Palestinian state in peace with Israel.

Ibish said Abbas is signaling that he can do things other than negotiate for a Palestinian state such as re-engage with a U.S.-designated terrorist organization such as Hamas or pressure Israel at the United Nations by demanding recognition there.

The problem with that approach, however, is that "in the end there isn't a way out for the Palestinians for making an agreement with the Israelis and vice versa," Ibish said. "If they're happy remaining in a situation of conflict they can do that. But if they want to end a condition of belligerency it has to be by dealing with each other."

The agreement was announced by Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh in a news conference in Gaza City. Hamas, the Palestinian branch of the Muslim Brotherhood, took control of the Gaza Strip in 2007 by killing members of the Fatah organization. Two similar unity agreements since then have failed to hold.

Fatah is backed by Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, which have joined Egypt in declaring war on the Muslim Brotherhood, Hamas' main sponsor.

"They're rivals who don't agree on anything," Ibish said.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said Abbas' move to make peace with Hamas, which has not sworn off violence and has pledged to destroy Israel, does not bode well for talks.

"He has to choose," Netanyahu said. "Does he want peace with Hamas or peace with Israel? You can have one but not the other. I hope he chooses peace, so far he hasn't done so."

Abbas said Palestinian unity does not contradict talks with Israel, but strengthens the Palestinian hand in negotiations.

"There is no incompatibility between reconciliation and negotiations, especially as we are committed to a just peace based on a two-state solution in accordance with resolutions of international law," Abbas said in an official statement distributed by his office.

"In the interest of the Palestinian people, it is necessary to preserve the unity of land and people," Abbas said. "This approach, supported on the Arab and international levels, strengthen the capacity of Palestinian negotiators to achieve the two-state solution."

The talks, launched by Secretary of State John Kerry almost a year ago, have been on the rocks. Abbas last week submitted forms to gain membership to 15 United Nations organizations, which he had agreed not to do while talks are in progress. He said he did so because Israel did not release a last batch of prisoners it had agreed to release before March 31.

The Israeli cabinet was scheduled to discuss the prisoner release, which was delayed in part because Israel sought a pledge from Abbas to recognize Israel as a Jewish homeland.

Abbas now says he would return to talks if Israel agrees to release the prisoners and to a freeze on settlement construction in the West Bank.

Hamas and Fatah are so far apart on so many issues that real unity between the two is unlikely, said Aaron David Miller, vice president for new initiatives at the Wilson Center, who has worked as a peace negotiator with Democratic and Republican secretaries of State.

The unity deal "won't produce unity of military forces, of money and of negotiating authority (with Israel), let alone the merger of the West Bank and Gaza into one entity," Miller said. The move "is going to make an already crippled peace process that much more difficult."

Ibish said Abbas' maneuvering may be popular with the Palestinian people, but there could be a cost for his failures.

"The Palestinian people pay the price for everything that goes wrong," he said. "They're the most vulnerable, they are ultimately the ones who pay a price for everybody's games."